A soldier who shot dead his girlfriend while they were both deployed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has failed in his appeal against a 20-year sentence for murder.
The Court of Military Appeal upheld the decision of a military judge who convicted Private Elias Mogaki of murdering Private Nomathemba Ngeleka in Goma on October 27 2017.
After shooting his girlfriend of five years‚ a single mother and fellow member of 5 South African Infantry Battalion based in Ladysmith‚ Mogaki shot himself in a failed suicide bid.
SA National Defence Force (SANDF) spokesperson Brigadier General Mafi Mgobozi said on Wednesday that Mogaki was tried after his recovery from a gunshot wound and sentenced in June.
“The SANDF is in the process of dishonourably discharging Private Mogaki. He is currently detained at the military detention barracks in Bloemfontein‚” said Mgobozi.
“On completion of the required administrative processes‚ he will be transferred and handed over to the Rustenburg Correctional Services facility where he will serve his 20-year prison sentence.”
Ngeleka received a full military funeral last November before being buried at KwaNzimakwe village on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast.
